McKenzie named as Canada's U-18 Head Coach ahead of assessment camp

Cape Breton University CAPERS Head Coach Fabian McKenzie has been appointed Head Coach of Canada's U18 National Team.

December 6, 2019

TORONTO, ON (December 6, 2019) - Cape Breton University CAPERS Head Coach Fabian McKenzie has been appointed Head Coach of Canada's U18 National Team. McKenzie is in his 21st season with the CAPERS. In this time, he has transformed the CAPERS into one of the best women's basketball programs in Canada. Coach McKenzie has guided the CBU CAPERS to the playoffs in 18 of his 20 years and to AUS titles in 2003-04, 05-06, 08-09, 09-10, 10-11 and 16-17. A six-time AUS Coach of the Year (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2019) and U Sports National Coach of the Year (2006).

The Glace Bay, NS native has spent the past 11 summers as a coach with the Canadian Women's National Program.

http://jnybblog.basketball.ca/en/news-article/56-athletes-invited-to-womens-high-performance-age-group-assessm

56 athletes from across the country have been invited to participate in the Women's National Age-Group Assessment Camp at Humber College (Toronto, ON) from December 12-16, 2019.

"We are excited to see the top nationally identified athletes compete and challenge themselves in our world-class training environment," said Denise Dignard, Director of Women's High Performance. "As part of their long-term development, our staff will provide guidance on what they need to individually work on as we prepare for this summer's U17 and U18 teams."

"We are looking forward to having coaches from different contexts involved and provide a valuable professional development opportunity for coaches working in the Podium Pathway. We're also excited to welcome back Sefu Bernard, Director of Player Development from the 2019 WNBA Champion Washington Mystics, to share his expertise in player development," Dignard said.

The objective of the camp is to provide a national training environment with an international focus to top identified athletes in a variety of age groups ranging from those born in 2002 and later. Players will undergo physical testing, attend educational sessions in the sport sciences, be integrated into the Canadian style of play, develop individual performance plans, and compete against the best in their age-group.

As part of Sport Canada's Sport Support Funding Program, and in an effort to develop a gender equity program in the high-performance context, Canada Basketball will provide funding for three female coaches to engage in a mentorship and training opportunity at this camp. These coaches will attend practice sessions, team & coaches meetings, off-court sessions as well as have an opportunity for mentorship sessions with women's high-performance staff.

This is the 20th assessment camp since 2011 and each has had a major impact on the growth of our women's program, including NextGen athletes, coaches, IST staff, and partners.

Athletes born in 2003 or later will be assessed for participation on the U17 team, which will compete this summer at the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup 2020 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania from August 15-23, 2020. Last summer, the team earned a silver medal at the FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship 2019 in Aysen, Chile.

Athletes born in 2002 or later will be assessed for their participation on the U18 team, competing at the FIBA U18 Women's Americas Championship 2020 (June 21-27, 2020 at a location TBD).

Canada is currently ranked 4th overall in the FIBA women's age-group rankings.

A full list of athletes, coaches and staff invited to the assessment camp is below.

2019 December Age Group Assessment Coaches and Support Staff

Name	Role	Hometown	Affiliation
Wumi Agunbiade *+	Guest Coach	Ajax, ON	Raptors 905
Steve Baur	WHP Performance Analyst / Senior Assistant Coach	Sackville, NS	Canada Basketball
Michelle Bell	Athletic Therapist	Brampton, ON	Ryerson University
Mireille Béland	Talent ID / Youth Council	Repentigny, QC	Vanier College
Sefu Bernard	IPP Coach	Grand Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman	Washington Mystics
Fabienne Blizzard	U17 Assistant Coach	Ottawa, ON	Capital Courts
Agnes Borg	Manager, Youth Player Development / Talent ID	Toronto, ON	Canada Basketball/Ontario Basketball
Lauren Buschmann	WHP Sport Scientist / IST Lead	St. Catharines, ON	Canada Basketball/CSI-Ontario
Marlo Davis	U18 Assistant Coach	Toronto, ON	Crestwood Preparatory College
Josh Del Gobbo	Student Athletic Therapist	Stony Creek, ON	Sheridan College
Andre Desjardins	Guest Coach	Gloucester, ON	É.S.P. Louis-Riel
Denise Dignard	WHP Director	Toronto, ON	Canada Basketball
Christa Eniojukan	Guest Coach	Ajax, ON	Ontario Tech University
Max Hirst	Coordinator, Performance Analysis	Collingwood, ON	Canada Basketball
Connor Jay	U18 Performance Analyst	Saskatoon, SK	University of Saskatchewan
Cheryl Jean-Paul	U17 Head Coach	Winnipeg, MB	Trinity Western University
Elyse Jobin*	Physiotherapist	Quebec City, QC	N/A
Mike MacKay	WHP Performance Manager	Truro, NS	Canada Basketball
Fabian McKenzie	U18 Head Coach	Glace Bay, NS	Cape Breton University
Nate McKibbon	U17 Assistant Coach	Dundas, ON	Mount Royal University
Isabel Ormond	Guest Coach	Hamilton, ON	University of Alberta
Patrice Pepin	Physiotherapist	Quebec City, QC	N/A
Julia Perera	Student Athletic Therapist	Toronto, ON	York University
Megan Pinske*	Guest Coach	Coquitlam, BC	Simon Fraser University
Hailey Roll	WHP Operations	Port Credit, ON	N/A
Dianna Ros*+	Guest Coach	Montreal, QC	Vanier College
Gabrielle Schwabe	WHP Operations	Sudbury, ON	Laurentian University
Siarra Stefan	WHP Intern	Otterville, ON	Niagara College
Elaine Sun	Manager, Women's Basketball Operations	Thornhill, ON	Canada Basketball
Tamara Tatham*	U18 Assistant Coach	Brampton, ON	University of Toronto
Bryce Tully	Mental Performance Consultant	Halifax, NS	CSC-Atlantic
Carrie Watts*+	Guest Coach	Agassiz, BC	University of British Columbia

2019 December Age Group Assessment Camp Invitees

Name	YOB	Hometown	School
ALEXANDER, Isaline	2003	Keswick, ON	Bill Crothers S.S.
ALLANA, Louella	2003	Laval, QC	É.S. St-Laurent
ASARE, Mary-Anna	2004	Ajax, ON	J. Addison School
AUDINO, Lauren	2003	Welland, ON	Lincoln Prep
BA, Sira	2003	Montreal, QC	Capital Courts Academy
BEDIAKO, Jada	2005	Brampton, ON	Southwest Academy
BERGERON, Clara	2002	Boucherville, QC	Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
BESSELINK, Maggie	2002	Kingston, ON	Holy Cross C.S.S
BOSWELL, Raevan	2004	Austin, TX	Lake Travis H.S
BOUFFARD, Sophie-Anne	2004	Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC	Collège Charles-Lemoyne
BROWNE, Kiandra	2002	Pointe-Claire, QC	Winston Salem Christian School
CLARKE, Jessica	2002	North Vancouver, BC	St. Thomas Aquinas R.S.S.
DAWKINS, Shantavia	2004	Brampton, ON	Southwest Academy
DAY-WILSON, Shayeann	2003	Toronto, ON	Crestwood Preparatory College
DEMEKE, Rebecca	2002	Toronto, ON	Crestwood Preparatory College
DEMONG, Tea	2002	Hinton, AB	St. Albert C.H.S.
DIA, Aicha	2003	Montreal, QC	Dawson College
DIAKHATE, Fatima	2004	Gatineau, QC	Capital Courts Academy
DOWNS, Ciante	2002	Vaughan, ON	Bill Crothers S.S.
EDWARDS, Aaliyah	2002	Kingston, ON	Crestwood Preparatory College
EJIM, Yvonne	2002	Calgary, AB	Edge School
ELEKO, Alphonsia	2002	Montreal, QC	É.S. St-Laurent
ENNIS, Dominique	2004	Brampton, ON	Kings Christian Collegiate
FORSYTH, Isabelle	2003	Langley, BC	Semiahmoo S.S.
FOURNIER, Toby	2005	Toronto, ON	Greenwood College
GAUDET, Isabella	2002	Ottawa, ON	Capital Courts Academy
GERALDO, Christine	2004	Montreal, QC	Miss Edgar's & Miss Cramp's School
GIBB, Delaney	2005	Raymond, AB	Raymond J.H.S.
HOLLINGER, Kennedy	2002	Regina, SK	Michael A. Riffel C.H.S.
HOWARD, Emily	2003	Cordova, TN	Harding Academy
HYLTON, Lemyah	2004	Mississauga, ON	Southwest Academy
HYLTON, Tineya	2003	Toronto, ON	Hamilton Heights Christian Academy
JEGEDE, Abigail	2003	Toronto, ON	Kings Christian Collegiate
JOHN, Cyanne	2005	Bolton, ON	Bill Crothers S.S.
KOABEL, Emma	2004	Port Colborne, ON	Niagara Prep
KYEI, Phillipina	2003	Calgary, AB	Father Lacombe H.S.
LATTIMORE, Latasha	2003	Toronto, ON	Crestwood Preparatory College
LEE, Deja	2003	Surrey, BC	Semiahmoo S.S.
MCLEOD, Brianna	2004	Brampton, ON	Excel Hoops Prep
MERCILLE, Rosalie	2003	St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC	É.S Joséphine Dandurand
NENADIC, Milana	2005	Kitchener, ON	Cameron Heights C.I.
NIANKAN, Ornella	2002	Montreal, QC	Winston Salem Christian School
PROSPER, Cassandre	2005	Rosemere, QC	Academie Ste-Therese
RADOCAJ, Marina	2005	Richmond, BC	R.A. McMath S.S
RIDDICK, Hannah	2003	Calgary, AB	Capital Courts Academy
ROWE, Cheyenne	2004	Ajax, ON	Southwest Academy
RUSSELL, Merissah	2002	Ottawa, ON	Capital Courts Academy
STA MARIA, Taija	2005	Vaughan, ON	Caledon Basketball Academy
STUPAR, Teah	2003	Etobicoke, ON	Kings Christian Collegiate
THOMPSON, Avianna	2003	Montreal, QC	É.S. St-Luc
TODD, T'yana	2004	Concord, ON	Royal Crown Academy
TOUSSAINT, Raphaela	2002	Amhertview, ON	Lincoln Prep
TUCHERERER, Julia	2004	Chilliwack, BC	GW Graham S.S.
WALLACK, Tara	2003	Surrey, BC	Semiahmoo S.S.
WELTZ, Jadyn	2003	Timmins, ON	Lincoln Prep
WRIGHT, Callie	2002	Markham, ON	Bill Crothers S.S.